Skytower
Encyclopedia
The European Central Bank Headquarters is a building complex under construction in the eastern part of Frankfurt
, Germany
. It includes a 185-metre-skyscraper which will be the new headquarter for the European Central Bank
(ECB). It is expected to be completed in 2014.
The ECB's headquarters is legally required by the EU treaties to lie within the city limits of Frankfurt, the largest financial centre in the Eurozone
. The ECB currently resides in the Eurotower
(the old Commerzbank Tower
) and the Eurotheum
in the Bankenviertel
(financial district) of Frankfurt.
-based architectural office called Coop Himmelb(l)au
. The building will be approximately 185 meters tall and will be accompanied by other secondary buildings on a landscaped site on the site of the former wholesale market (Großmarkthalle
) in the eastern part of Frankfurt. The main construction work was planned to commence in October 2008, with completion scheduled for before the end of 2011.
Construction was planned to start in late 2008, but was put on hold in June 2008 as the ECB was unable to find a contractor that would build the Skytower for the allocated budget of €500 million due to the bidding taking place at the peak of the pre-late-2000s recession bubble. A year later with prices having fallen significantly the ECB launched a new tendering process broken up into segments. With the project back on, the ECB plans to move in mid-2014.
It is expected that the building will become an architectural symbol for Europe and is designed to cope with double the number of staff who operate in the Eurotower.
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It includes a 185-metre-skyscraper which will be the new headquarter for the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
(ECB). It is expected to be completed in 2014.
The ECB's headquarters is legally required by the EU treaties to lie within the city limits of Frankfurt, the largest financial centre in the Eurozone
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...
. The ECB currently resides in the Eurotower
Eurotower (Frankfurt)
The Eurotower is a skyscraper located in the Bankenviertel of Frankfurt, Germany.The tower is tall, with 40 floors and 78.000 m² of office space...
(the old Commerzbank Tower
Commerzbank Tower
Commerzbank Tower, located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany, is the tallest completed skyscraper in the European Union. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow...
) and the Eurotheum
Eurotheum
The Eurotheum is a skyscraper in the city center of Frankfurt. It was built to coincide with the neighbouring Maintower and was completed in 1999....
in the Bankenviertel
Bankenviertel (Frankfurt am Main)
The Bankenviertel is an area in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany.It is not an official city district but it is a commonly used designation to describe the not exactly defined area where most of Germanys major banks have their headquarters and where many foreign banks have their representation...
(financial district) of Frankfurt.
Development
In 1999, an international architectural competition was launched by the bank to design a new building. It was won by a ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
-based architectural office called Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelb(l)au
Coop Himmelbau is a cooperative architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna, Austria and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles, United States and Guadalajara, Mexico...
. The building will be approximately 185 meters tall and will be accompanied by other secondary buildings on a landscaped site on the site of the former wholesale market (Großmarkthalle
Großmarkthalle
The Großmarkthalle , located in the Ostend of Frankfurt am Main, was the city's main wholesale market, especially for fruit and vegetables. It was closed on June 4, 2004...
) in the eastern part of Frankfurt. The main construction work was planned to commence in October 2008, with completion scheduled for before the end of 2011.
Construction was planned to start in late 2008, but was put on hold in June 2008 as the ECB was unable to find a contractor that would build the Skytower for the allocated budget of €500 million due to the bidding taking place at the peak of the pre-late-2000s recession bubble. A year later with prices having fallen significantly the ECB launched a new tendering process broken up into segments. With the project back on, the ECB plans to move in mid-2014.
It is expected that the building will become an architectural symbol for Europe and is designed to cope with double the number of staff who operate in the Eurotower.